Almond Milk Chocolate Pudding

We’re not milk drinkers, but I buy it anyway for recipes and the occasional bowl of cereal. Inevitably, it goes sour and I end up having to throw out half a carton. That is, until now.

Thanks to a dollar off coupon and a tip from my mother saying it wasn’t as strange as it sounded, I bought a carton of almond milk. Sometimes I think it tastes like cake mix, other times marshmallows. And then sometimes it reminds me of this old cereal I use to like called “Almond Delight” but in liquid form. And while I bought the unsweetened type because I liked the fact it only has 40 calories per cup, I usually sweeten it with whatever low cal sweetener is on hand. It’s good on cereal, in smoothies and hopefully will work well in baked goods (haven’t tried that yet), but right now my favorite recipe using almond milk is this pudding.

This is from Silk Pure Almond Milk’s recipe center, but I’ve made a few personal changes. Because I wasn’t sure Todd would like it, I made a half batch. He loved it. I’m not sure he can even tell that it’s almond milk, but he noticed the really smooth texture. It also adds a hint of almond flavor to the pudding, which in this case is a bonus.

My question is, am I the last person on the planet to try almond milk? If so, please send any tips or uses for it or brand recommendations. I’ve only used H.E.B. (our grocery store) brand.

Slowly whisk in the almond milk. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.

Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking occasionally, until mixture thickens. It usually takes about 3 minutes, but I continue whisking for a total of 4.

Set a sieve over a bowl and drain pudding into the bowl to ensure that there aren’t any lumps. Stir in the extracts and the butter. Pour into 2 serving bowls. Cover exposed area with a small sheet of waxed paper or parchment or plastic wrap, then cool slightly and chill until cold.

Meredith, I’m going to have to try the chocolate flavored. Fuzz doesn’t like chocolate milk, but I think it’s part of her milk aversion as a whole. She might like chocolate almond milk, and the way you described it sounds very tempting.

Julie, so far it’s working well in just about every recipe. The only one I didn’t care for was an eclair cake made with almond milk. The pudding mixture wasn’t as full and fluffy.

Cindy, shoot me an email and let me know what you think or leave a comment. I recommend the vanilla flavored (so far).

I used almond milk exclusively when a vegetarian and trying to transition to veganism. Now I’m no longer a vegetarian and eat dairy regularly, I don’t really use almond milk anymore, unless I’m baking for people with special dietary constraints. I’ve used it pretty interchangeably with milk, although for baking I would use unsweetened almond milk, so there would be no interference with any of the other flavors.

I really like the Blue Diamond (company is located where I live, but I believe it’s available nationally) brand of almond milk. I like both vanilla & chocolate, although I don’t think the chocolate is super ‘chocolaty’ tasting. We also use the unsweetened, 45 calorie variety. There is a fairly new product that is a blend of almond & coconut milk. It’s good but mostly tastes of almond milk. I use it to bake with & haven’t encountered any problems. I made pumpkin pie with it, but didn’t care for the flavor in that. Use it for smoothies all the time If you’re looking for calcium, I believe the refrigerated (I normally buy the shelf stable ones) cartons have much more calcium. Have fun experimenting!

I looooove almond milk! I use it to cook and bake pretty interchangeably with “regular” cow’s milk and haven’t had any problems so far, but I’ve mainly stuck to puddings and sauces (works great in a curry!) so far. Welcome to the club!

I haven’t been drinking milk for a couple of years. My problem has been that I don’t use enough almond milk to justify the purchase even though I like it quite a lot. I’ve used it in baked goods successfully. I love it in smoothies.
I’m quite happy to see this recipe and will try it very soon.

I really like Blue Diamond and Trader Joe’s brands of almond milk (the kinds in the refrigerator case, the shelf stable one’s aren’t as good). They work well for baking and in other desserts like rice pudding. I also use almond milk for cooking steel cut oats. Looking forward to trying the pudding!

this is pretty surreal as I sat down this morning with my cup of tea to read some blogs before work and in my tea is some almond milk. Some almond milk I picked up yesterday for the first time ever. I’m loving it and look forward to more recipes with it in!
Kinda spooky tho.

Before almond milk was on the market, maybe 10 years ago, I made home made almond milk. It was richer than the grocery store kind (less water) and a real treat on cereals, in puddings, etc. I’ve not personally tried the store brands yet, but my husband has started using it on cereal.

The past two or more years, I’ve been using Blue Diamond unsweetened vanilla almond milk for breakfast smoothies. Half gallon containers of 1% organic milk also reside in our frig and never have a chance to go bad.

I LOVE almond milk!! I always have the shelf-stable kind in my cupboard for when I need it. I’m not a big milk drinker but like having it around for smoothies or making oatmeal (especially overnight oats in the refridgerator), and I love how long it lasts once open. I get the unsweetened vanilla, which works perfectly for how I use it, and I typically get Blue Diamond brand, although I’ve occasionally bought Silk. I’ve used it in baking and in instant pudding mixes and it works great (as opposed to soy milk – pudding doesn’t set with soy milk!). And the hint of sweetness on cereal is a perfect combination.

I like the unsweetened almond milk, vanilla flavor, sold in the dairy aisle. I haven’t tried it in pudding yet, but I have substituted it in Cooking Light’s fudge-y brownie recipe that is supposed to have a 1/3 cup of skim milk and they turned out really good.

I think the only possible negative of the almond milk is the lack of protein (vs. “regular” milk), but since I don’t like cow’s milk and wouldn’t drink it anyway, it’s not really a loss for me.

I’ve been baking with almond milk for a year or so now. I started using it for the same reason as you, I was tired of throwing out half a carton of milk. I haven’t had any problems with substituting it for milk in baking. I’ve even added vinegar to create my own “buttermilk” in a pinch. I like the vanilla unsweetened the best, Almond Breeze or Trader Joe’s refrigerated varieties. The only baking I don’t use it in are things where fat content is important, such as biscuits.

I like the Almond Breeze by Blue Diamond much better than Silk’s unsweetened or HEB’s store brand (they seem to model their recipe after Silk). For some reason, the Silk tastes really phoney to me. I’ve had good luck baking with it, but then I tend to make weird stuff, so not sure how it’d work out in more standard recipes.

I just recently tried almond milk too! So far, I’ve only bought it twice, but I’m liking Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla. I like that it’s unsweetened but has a hint of vanilla. I use it in my coffee and cereal, but haven’t baked with it. I used to use skim milk in coffee, but I’m really liking the flavor the almond milk adds…. almost like a flavored creamer. (If you’re used to really creamy coffee though, almond milk’s probably not a good choice.)

love it and have found it fine for baking. my favorite isn’t mentioned yet: Almond Dream, by Hain/Celestial. texture and flavor are as good as Blue Diamond. i agree with Erin that Silk is yuck. (i also prefer Soy Dream soy milk to Silk’s soy milk, and i like the refrigerated version better than shelf-stable. unfortunately, Silk has muscled Soy Dream right out of the refrigerator case so i can only get the shelf-stable)

i’ve never heard of a pudding mix that requires the use of dairy for a reaction.
but i love the idea of making a buttermilk from almond milk using vinegar – thanks to Rebecca for that suggestion!

So glad I found this, I LOVE pudding. But most recipes are either made with milk (I’m lactose intolerant) or they’re loaded with calories.
Saving this and making sometime this weekend.
Question though – what purpose does the butter serve? Is it for texture and/or taste? Just wondering since its mixed in after the pudding thickens.
Also, I buy AlmondBreeze brand, I’ve tried both boxed shelf and refrigerated versions. I like them both and, like you, am really interested in trying the chocolate version. I use it in everything. If it calls for milk – I sub with it and have never had any problems.

A lot of stove top pudding recipes call for butter, and I think it just adds a silkiness, richness and adds depth of flavor. If there’s a lactose free spread you like, you might try that.

By the way, I actually bought some Almond Breeze. It tastes nuttier than the grocery store brand and doesn’t have quite the same vanilla flavor, but it’s good in its own right. Fuzz doesn’t like any of the almond milk, unfortunately. I was happy she tried it, at least.

I switched to almond milk awhile ago because of my lactose intolerance (it’s cheaper than Lactaid!), so I cook a lot with it too. I really like the Trader Joe’s almond milk.
By the way, one of the things I do if I find we have a lot of milk I have to use up before it goes bad is to freeze it into ice cubes. Then I use those in J’s milk to make it extra cold and not watery…or in smoothies. But we rarely have a problem with leftover milk as D and J drink it so much!

It’s been a while since your original post, but I have to share: you can make one heckuva alfredo sauce with plain almond milk. I use the “original” sweetened kind, butter, flour, and garlic powder. It’s dang near as good as Olive Garden’s!

Hey! =)
Just made a batch of pudding from your recipe.
I just added 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder to make it more of a snack.
I couldn’t stop licking the spatula while making it.
Thanks!! =)

Making your own is so easy, we make a quart a day. No special tools needed, just blender, a quart jar, and a piece of fabric, 18×18 inches. Soak a cup of almonds overnight in 2 cups of filtered water (in that jar). Next morning (or 4-6 hours later) rinse those almonds and the jar. Put almonds in blender with a quart of filtered water and blend for 2-3 minutes. Drape fabric over mixing bowl, pour blender over fabric wrap pulp up in the fabric to squeeze it out into bowl. When you have milked the mass pretty dry, unfold fabric and dehydrate (or just freeze in baggie) to make your own almond flour/pulp (instead of 10-15 dollars a pound) to use in gluten free baking recipes. Pour the milk back into that quart jar and store in fridge. You can shake it up if it separates. We order our organic raw almonds online from Italy, but any bulk almonds will work. So much cheaper and fresher than anything from the store.